California Rep. George Miller To Retire

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., addresses a panel of family members during a hearing on the Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy in Beckley, W.Va., at the Beckley-Raleigh Convention Center in May 2010.

Jon C. Hancock
/ AP

Originally published on January 14, 2014 12:03 am

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), a top ally to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a veteran of four decades in Congress, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election.

"I'll miss my daily collaboration with Leader Pelosi and so many colleagues whom I respect and admire," Miller said in a statement.

Miller, 68, currently serves as the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and ranks as the fifth most senior member of the House.

"For me, as Speaker and Democratic Leader, George's patriotism, wisdom and guidance have been especially valued, and he has been a close friend since my first days in the House," Pelosi said in a statement.

Miller served as chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor from 2007-2010 and also as co-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. During his tenure in Congress, he has focused on legislation related to health and education policy — including the passage of the education reform bill known as "No Child Left Behind" in 2002 — and on labor issues.

First elected in 1974, Miller is one of the last "Watergate babies" — a member of the famed class of lawmakers elected in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

To date, he is the fourth House Democrat and the 13th House member to announce his retirement at the end of the 113th Congress.